Machine for crimping the arms of an electrical terminal about an electrical conductor



R. MARTlNEs 2,800,158

ELECTRICAL TERMINAL MACHINE FOR CRIMPING THE ARMS OF' AN ABOUT ANELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR Flled July l5, 1955 INVENTOR.

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' ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent C) 2,800,158 MACHINE non CRIMPING THE ARMs on ANELECTRICAL 'rERMlNAL alentar' unterm-i CAL 'CoNuUcraa The invention,relates ta a ateelaine for ernpius the arme ef. an eleetreeltenaiaelaeeut eleetrieal, een daetef- ,An abject et the invention is topreviste maehine. of the above ehareeter with an eleetr; eeudueter pe.-etening Ineens whereby the ,eneratar may aeeueately Peeitieti, andadvaaee an eleetr-.ieal eenstleter la Proper relation te the arme et theterminal te Whieh the eem @Heter ie te be attaelaesi:

A .more speele ebieef et the invention `is te provisie e. meehine. @Itthe abete ehareeter with swnsable. 1e.- ver Whielt will QPerate te earryen eleetrieel. eenduetar in Prever register with the eleetriea!terminal. te Which the conductor is to be attached and also to actuatethe means for setting the machine in motion to perform a crimpingoperation.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of constipation as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

la the eeeernpeayiae graviers.:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a fragmentary portion of a machineembodying my invention for crimping the arms of an electrical terminalabout an electrical conductor;

Figure 2 is a similar view of a lesser portion than shown in Figure 1and showing certain elements thereof in different relation;

Figure 3 is an end view looking towards the machine in the direction ofthe arrows on line 3-3 of Figure l with the view revolved clockwise 90;and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary portion of the rolling tools drawn to anenlarged scale and showing the arms of a terminal crimped about anelectrical conductor shown in section.

The invention in general comprises a swingable arm or lever in which agroove is formed for receiving the end portion of an electricalconductor that is carried by the lever to a position between the arms ofa terminal. To assure the accurate position of the conductor relative tothe arms of the terminal, a gauge is provided against which the extremeend of the conductor engages to properly position the same into saidgroove whereby the portion of the conductor free of insulation will becorrectly positioned with relation to the arms of the terminal.

Referring to the drawing for a more detailed descrip tion of theinvention, 10 designates generally a machine which is adapted forcrimping the arms of an electrical terminal about the end portion of awire electrical conductor. Only so much of the machine is shown as isbelieved necessary for an understanding of the present invention. Themachine comprises a base or support 11 on which there is mounted a feedtrough 12 having sides 13 between which the electrical terminals 14 areslidably advanced in position to be acted upon by forming dies orrolling tools, as they are known in the trade,

Patented July 23;. 1.957

which are designated generally. 15 (see Figure 4). The terminals 14 areadvanced by known feed mechanism (not shown) to position the leadingterminal in regis.- ter With the lower die or anvil 16 and are made inst rip form wherein each terminal in the present instanceis connected toa marginal edge portion 17 of the parent stock by a narrow neck 18 whichis severed during the operation of crimping the pairs of arms 19., 20ofthe terminal about the electrical conductor.

Heretofore, the operator. manually placed a prepared electric conductorbetween the arms of the terminal advanced to the position to receive thesaid conductor, thereafter the machine being set in motion for thecrimp# ing operation. The proper manual positioning of `the conductorbetween the said arms depended entirely on the skill of the operator andthus determined the speed of operation of the machine. In accordancewith the present invention, I provide a conductor positioning means orcarrier in the form of a rockable arm or le' ver designated generally 21which is provided at one end portion with an upper inclined side 22 (seeFigure 3,) in which there is formed a conductor receiving groove 23. Achannel likemember 24 (Figures 1 and 2) is securely fastened to thefront side of support 11 in any appropriate manner (not shown) with itsopposite walls 25 extending outwardly. The lever 21 extends between thewalls v25 and is pivotally attached thereto as at 26 (Figure 1) forrocking movement toward the anvil 16 against the action of a compressionspring 28. The inward movement of the lever is controlled by anadjustable stop 29 which is adapted to engage against -the -wall 30ofthe channel. n adjustable sto'p 29.

carried at the opposite end portion of the lever is adapted to engagethe wall 30 to lii'nit the outward swing of the lever under urge ofspring 28. It will be apparent that a conductor 31 positioned and heldin the groove 22 may be carried to a position in register with the dies15 as the lever 21 is manually swung inwardly. Upon release of thelever, the same will return to the outward position thereof under urgeof spring 28.

In order to properly relate the conductor 31 in the groove 23, a gauge32 is provided which comprises a generally flat body 33 (see Figure 3)having a sheet metal plate 34 fastened thereto, by means of screws 35,so as to extend upwardly therefrom at generally right angles opposite tothe said groove 23 and spaced a predetermined distance therefrom. Thebody 33 is fastened to a vertical shaft 36 which is journaled forrotation in a bearing block 37 (Figure 3) attached to wall 30 and has aninclined side edge which forms a cam surface 38 (see Figures l and 2). Ablock 39 projects inwardly from the lever 21 into engagement with thesaid surface 38 and during the inward swing of the lever will swing thegauge 32 in a counter-clockwise direction (see Figure 2) out of its pathof movement against the urge of a torsion spring 40.

From the above description it will be apparent that the operator mayposition and hold the prepared wire conductor 31 inthe groove 23 withthe end of the conductor against the plate 34 (see Figure 3), then byswinging the lever 21 inwardly to its limit (see Figure 2) the conductorwill be carried in proper position in register between the anvil 16 andthe plunger 41 of the dies 15 and between the arms 19, 20 of theterminal ready for the crimping operation of the machine (see Figure 4).Thus, it will be clearly apparent that the skill required of an operatoris materially reduced.

In the present disclosure the crimping operation of the machine isinitiated by means of a micro-switch 42 which may be positioned in anelectric circuit controlling the operation of the plunger 41 and a feedmechanism for the terminals. For example the mechanism may be similar tothat shown in my Patent No. 2,494,- 137 wherein the plunger controlvalve is a solenoid valve 50 that controls'the admission of air to a4piston 51 and thefeed mechanism is a pivoted dog as shown in .saidpatent. 'The' switch 42 is mounted on a bracket 43 extending from therear side of the channel 24 and the roller 44 of its operating arm 45extends opposite to an opening'46 in the wall 30 to be engaged by anadjustable member 46 carried by the lever 21. At near the inwardmovement of the said lever, the member will engage the roller 44V (seeFigure 2) to movethe arm 45 to close the switch contacts in the usualmanner, which will set the machine in motion by opening valve 50 toperform a` crimping operation and a feed action of the terminal (notshown).

In the operation of the machine, the operator positions Vand holds aprepared conductor 3l in proper position in the groove 23, then pushesthe lever forward which 'carries the `conductor end in register betweenthe rolling tools. At near the forward swing of the lever the member 46engagesV roller '44 to close the switch 42 to set the machine lin motionfor a crimping operation- The plunger 41 lowers and engages theconductor end to push the same between the arm-s 19, 20 in position totrical terminal about an electrical conductor and hav- 3 ing a pair ofdies operable to engage and bend said arms about the said conductor, afeed trough on which the electrical terminal is advanced in registerwith said dies,

a carrier for said electrical conductor having a groove in which saidconductor is received, said carrier being movable to position theconductor held in said groove in register between the arms of saidterminal during the crimping operation of the machine, and a gaugeagainst which the end extremity of the conductor is engaged locatedbetween the terminals and the carrier and in line with said groove tocorrectly position the same in said groove, said gauge ,being rockablymounted and having an eccentrical surface thereon, adapted to be engagedby said carrier to move said gauge out of the path of travel of saidcarrier.

2. In a machine for crimping the arms of an electrical terminal about anelectrical conductor and having a pair of reciprocating dies betweenwhich said terminal 0 may be positioned and operable to engage and bendthe arms of the terminal positioned in register with said dies, Va dieactuator, means in circuit with said actuator tocontrol the operationthereof, a pivoted lever having a groove for receiving the saidconductor thereinrand manually movably toward said dies` to positionsaid conductor between and in register with the said arms of a terminalpositioned between said dies, a gauge against which the end extremity ofthe conductor is engaged locatedbetween the dies and said lever and inline with said groove, said gauge being rockably mounted and having asurface adapted to be engaged by said lever, said lever engaging saidgauge to rock it out ofthe path of travel of a conductor in said groove,said lever near the end of the feed stroke thereofengaging said actuatorto operate said dies and performa crimping operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FranceFeb. 3, 1955

